Banned Books Week Posters

There have been a ton of great Banned Books Week posters out there this year, and I wanted to be sure to highlight a few here! We also post them on Literary Lonestars, one of my side gigs. I hope some are new to you!

via EpicReads

via Smith Public Library, Texas

Banned Books Week Awesomeness Part 4

Another day of BBW, another post about some awesome stuff. All images will lead you to the goodies. Find day 3 HERE, day 2 HERE, and day 1 HERE.



Carolyn always has the coolest stuff for sale and has been generous to donate her banned inspired jewelry to this blog. She is now an ABFFE affiliate so when she sells to bookstores, ABFFE gets 10%. I have bought several things from her. Check out her new pins! 

Love this cartoon from Unshelved

Yes, the Hunger Games series has definitely been challenged - violence. I LOVE this pumpkin and Novel Novice is giving one away! *crosses fingers* 

This shirt is calling my name!!! 

Thank you sticking around this week! 

Confessions from a Book Challenge Part 2

Yesterday I had a guest post from Allison in Texas where she talks about her experiences when a book was challenged. If you missed that, you can catch it HERE.

If you are a librarian and have been through something similar, please feel to share in the comments section.

Jen from Ontario:

I remember when I was interviewing for the job I have now, that one of the questions I was asked was about how I would respond to being questioned or challenged on the material on our shelves. Coming from a customer service background my go-to answer had always been “the customer is always right”. But when it came to this I knew that wasn’t the right answer.

Showing understanding and listening to the “customer’s concerns” were important but I knew (I felt) that freedom of information, the right for everyone to choose was more important. 

This is the only book I’ve been officially challenged on. It (was) in our picture book section. The author and Illustrators are Canadian and have a popular children’s series. 

The parent who complained about this one wrote a 3 page letter about why she was so offended. The book is about a dog that eagerly awaits the mailman. He arrives and the dog devours him across the pages. It’s pretty graphic. But you can see on the front cover there is even a warning label. What shocked me was the parent talked about reading the entire book to her 4 year old. I would have thought that after realizing the material wasn’t preschool friendly she would have stopped. We contacted her, and listened to her concerns again; but explained that the book would not be removed from the library. We did however relocate the book to a different section. 

Challenges don’t happen very often but if they do we have an online form on our library website where we can direct customers to fill it out if they concerns. It’s called a “Material Re-Consideration” form. After it’s filled out, it goes to whichever department the book is housed in. The head of that department calls the customer and listens to their concerns and then explains our “intellectual freedom” policy.  

You can read that policy here: http://www.accessola.com/ola/bins/content_page.asp?cid=1109

Thank you, Jen for for sharing your experience with us!

Confessions from a Book Challenge Part 1

All this week we have been talking (and celebrating) "banned" books. I've pointed out frequently challenged books, ways you can be an Intellectual Freedom Fighter, and even given some of my favorite books away that are chronically on the naughty list to willing readers.

Yesterday, I had an interview with Jo Knowles about her experience having her first published book, Lessons From a Dead Girl, challenged in Kentucky. Today, I want to share a story with you from a youth librarian who has been through a challenge. In fact, two. This story will enlighten anyone not in a library about what happens when a complaint is received. Yes, all libraries respond/act differently depending on the population they serve and what their collection development policy entails.

If you are a librarian and have been through something similar, please feel to share in the comments section.

Allison from Texas:

I've had two of my books challenged since starting in libraries.  I say "my" books because they were ones I had selected, purchased, and put on the shelf.  

My first challenge was GOSSIP GIRLS by Cecily von Ziegesar.  I was working in a very small public library as a part-time Youth Services Assistant while I was working on my Masters degree. I was the half in our one and a half department. I immediately took over the Young Adult collection and started ordering more current, popular books.  One was the GOSSIP GIRLS series.  Everyone was happy until a mother of a teenage girl filled out a challenge form for the book.  My library director went nuts.  Suddenly, I had to look up every library in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex to see where they located this title--if they owned it.  The Youth Services librarian had to read the book to decide whether my findings and judgment were accurate.  I was a little overwhelmed and pissed off.  

I wanted to shake my fist at this mom because here's the thing: she hadn't even read the book.  That's right.  She made her judgment and basis for her complaint by flipping thru the book.  The woman isolated words without context such as drugs, sex, alcohol.  She also failed to completely fill out the "Request for Reconsideration" form.  If you are going to take the time to question someone else's judgment, I believe you should at least do two things. One, read the book you are objecting to.  Second, go thru the formal complaint process if you are serious about having a book removed because it's a BIG DEAL.

In the end, this book challenge amounted to nothing because the patron did not follow the proper steps for filing an official challenge.  It eventually was forgotten and made into "no big deal."  But it made me suspicious, it made me question MY judgment.  And it left a bad taste in my mouth.  I wasn't out of library school, and yet my nerves were already rattled.  It was an eye-opener.
-----------------------
Now my second challenge came from my current job.  I'm the Teen Services Librarian for the Central location of a public library.  This was a very different challenge.  It was made formally using the proper measures sent to my supervisor and our library director.  It was for a young adult non-fiction title, TWEAK by Nic Sheff.  

The parent thought that the book was not suited for her 13 year old son.  This particular mother had read the book specifically referencing several passages that I must admit I was not fully aware of.  However, she did not ask that the book be removed from our collection, but rather requested that it be relocated to the adult non-fiction section.  I pulled all the book's reviews from professional journals and polled local libraries to see where they had the book located.  About half had it in adult non-fiction and half had it in young adult non-fiction.

When a book challenge is made, it is up to the librarians to come down with a decision.  If the patron does not agree with that ruling, he or she is able to appeal the decision to the library board.  So basically, my supervisor asked me what I thought.  It came down to this... Our Young Adult collection development policy states that we select titles for high school readers.  It is strictly 9th thru 12th grade.  This book falls squarely in that category according to reviews and recommendations.  Also, the reason we have a young adult non-fiction is due to the fact that teens rarely browse and check-out titles from our adult collection which is located on another floor.  Move the book out of the Teen Area (where it was circulating like crazy!), and it would hardly ever leave the shelf lost in the stacks.  I could not justify relocating the title based on one person's reading of it.  And my supervisor agreed.

I was genuinely surprised by the full support I received from my supervisors, library director, and get this--the patron.  I fully expected her to challenge my decision, but she actually thanked us for our consideration and accepted our decision.  I did recommend a few things to her.  That if she had any hesitations about her son's choices--to read it first.  Secondly, please ask a librarian for recommendations when in doubt!  We love to help.  Also, I informed her of our YA collection development policy.  That I select for the high school level while juvenile collections include middle school.  (It's this weird split that I've never quite understood, but due to funding it has always worked out okay.)

Oddly enough, I found this book challenge a positive experience because of the support I received from my library.  The willingness of the patron to accept our final decision also helped.  She was willing to listen to my reasons, and it allowed me the opportunity to recommend other titles for her son.  It was very much a "teachable moment."  So I've had both good and bad outcomes with book challenges.  But I always wonder, will this be the next book challenged?  And the truth is, you never know.  Sometimes the books that people choose to challenge surprise me.  But the point is that is hasn't stopped me from buying any books.  I do not censor my selections or purchases based on mine or anyone else's objections.  There's a book for every reader.  

P.S. I just purchased We All Fall Down by Nic Sheff, and a replacement for our well-worn copy of TWEAK.

Thank you, Allison for sharing your story!

Banned Books Week Awesomeness Part 3

Another day of BBW, another post about some awesome stuff. All images will lead you to the goodies. Find day 2 HERE and day 1 HERE.

Buy this for me please....

This kinda cracks me up. Thanks, Shelf Check.

Ohhhh, pretty.

I have this t shirt and I love the bag. Unshelved has all sorts of cool stuff. 

That's it for now, but stay tuned! 

Interview with "Banned" Author, Jo Knowles

My friend Emily over at The Hate Mongering Tart asked me to interview Jo Knowles for her blog during Banned Books Week. I thought I would post here as well. Thx, Em for the great idea!

Here is a little back ground. Jo Knowles is a fabulous writer and her first book, LESSONS FROM A DEAD GIRL was published by Candlewick Press in 2007. In 2009, the Montgomery County High School in Kentucky challenged the book. Today, I'm happy to talk with Jo about her "banned" experience. 

Welcome, Jo!

There have been many books published about child abuse at the hands of family or friends, but I don't recall very many about peer abuse. Where did this story originate?
I was at work sifting through research for a booklet on child abuse and came across an article about kids abusing kids. It resonated with me in a really powerful way, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. On my drive home that night, the first scene of Lessons began to form in my head. I started writing as soon as I got home.

During the first stages of LESSONS FROM A DEAD GIRL, did it ever cross your mind that the content would be controversial?
You know, when I was writing the book, publishing was such a distant dream that I wasn't thinking about content in that way. I was just focusing on writing the story in the truest way I could, without being too explicit--not because I was worried about being censored, but because I didn't think Laine would tell her story that way.

Your book was removed from classroom use and approved curriculum from Montgomery County High School in Kentucky (2009). How did you learn of the news? 

The teacher, Risha Mullins, contacted me to tell me. I'd actually done a phone visit with her class the year before, because she was so excited by her students' response to the book. In particular, her "reluctant" readers. She told me some of the parents had gotten together to try to remove the book, and whether I knew anyone who could help her. That was how it all started.

What was your first reaction when you heard a parent called your book "soft pornography?"
When people started talking about how explicit the book was, I felt very cheated and falsely accused. There are no explicit descriptions in the book.It's hard to explain, but for a little while, I also felt ashamed. It's a horrible feeling to be accused of doing something "bad" even when you know in your heart you didn't do anything of the sort.

Generally, people want material removed from a school/ public library out of fear. What do you think these parents and other adults were so afraid of?
I think in the case of my book, there was a fear of homosexuality. This is ironic, since the two girls are clearly not homosexual. One of the main character's friends later in the book is gay, but it's not an "issue" in the story and I'm fairly certain this wasn't what the banners were focusing on. They were classifying the abuse as homosexual because it was between two girls.

Did the challenge of LESSONS influence your further writing?
It stalled my writing because I suddenly became ultra aware of how anything I wrote might be misinterpreted or misunderstood or taken out of context. What finally helped me was pulling out all the letters I'd received from teens who felt less alone because of the book. That makes everything else worth it.

After all is said and done, would you have changed anything about the controversial themes of LESSONS?
No. I really wouldn't. Because I don't really think the themes are controversial. Sexual abuse happens. That's not controversial, it's just unfortunate. I think the book helped a lot of people finally talk about a type of abuse that, while very common, has been kept in the dark. That's what's so crazy about all this talk about YA lit being too dark. Books are only as dark as reality. Books pull the darkness into the light. And hopefully, by doing so, they help pull readers out of it, too.

Thank you, Jo for sharing your experience with us!  

Add to Goodreads

You can find Jo at her website and on Twitter

Banned Books Week Awesomeness Part 2

So, yesterday I showed some cool things that I love about Banned Books Week. If ya missed it, HERE you go. Today, I have more goodies and funnies for you to see.

First up, my good friends Girls In the Stacks made this totally hilarious BBW video. I love these girls and their creativity. They are willing to have fun and do it all for literature.




Maureen Johnson tweeted about donating all of the proceeds for this YA Saves shirt to Reading is Fundamental. #yasaves was a hashtag created after a war broke out on Twitter after Cox Gurden publicly stated that dark subject matter in young adult literature will harm and endanger a child. (grounds for a book challenge?) The world fought back, including teens, saying that teens and young adults have"dark" experiences and they feel that reading about them has saved their life. Hence....#yasaves. If you missed it, Google - "#yasaves" + Twitter  I'll be buying this shirt!

Love this BBW poster from 2003 with a Warhol feel.

This parody cartoon of the #1 challenged book, And Tango Makes Three, makes me laugh. Maybe I shouldn't. ;)

That's it for now, but stay tuned! Many more to come this week!

Banned Books Week Awesomeness

I have bookmarked so many awesome things in preparation for this week, Banned Books Week. So, this is where I share them with you. *wink*

I have watched this video at least 5 or 6 times and even shared it way back in July of 2009 on this blog. Too good not to share again!




Aren't these posters rad? They are from 2010, but I love 'em. Thx, Schlow Centre Region Library!

Even the uber talented and dear missed Shel Silverstein has had his books challenged. Notably, A Light In the Attic was challenged because of "suggestive illustrations." It has even been said that the book encourages disobedience and gloried Satan. Whoa! Here is an AUDIO RECORDING from NPR about the wonderful Shel Silverstein recorded just this month. His family members even read poems from his new book, Every Thing On It. Love it!

That's it for now, but stay tuned! Many more to come this week!